Meanwhile the adjustable-rate mortgage hit 3.56% while the contract
rate for the composite of all fixed and adjustable-ratemortgage loans
fell 1 basis point to 3.55% in September compared to 3.56% in August.Initial loan fees and charges made up 0.95% of the average loan balance in September, a 12-basis point drop from August.

Of the purchase-money mortgage loans originated last month, 22% were
classified as no-point mortgages, an 8% increase from August.

The average loan term hit 27.4 years in September, a slight increase from August.

The
views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those
providing comments or external internet links are theirs alone, and do not
necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of First
Capital, we make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, current,
suitability, or validity of this information and will not be liable for
any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries,
or damages arising from its display or use. Any
information provided does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to lend.
Providing information to purchase does not guarantee a loan approval. All registered
trademarks, copyright, images, or other items used are property of their
respective owner and are used for editorial purposes only.

First Capital Mortgage is a subsidiary of PHH Home Loans LLC, a
direct lender, Dept. of Corporations file #413-0713 NMLS#4256

Monday, October 29, 2012

With homes appreciating again, inventories much lower, and demand much
higher, there is nothing to worry about, right? Wrong. The number one spooky
feature of today’s market is the absurdly low inventory. Everybody has heard
that inventories are low, but the depth of those lows is only understood by
active buyers and sellers today. There are only 4,043 homes on the market after
shedding an additional 4% in the past two weeks. The most recent prior record low inventory was established in March 2005, with 4,912 homes. That is 21% more
than today!

Thomas’ signature housing measurement is his “market time” benchmark. It
tracks how many months it theoretically takes to sell all the inventory in the
local MLS for-sale listings at the current pace of pending deals being made. By
this Thomas logic, as of October 25 — we see …

Market time of 1.29 months for Orange County buyers to gobble up all homes
for sale at the current pace vs. 1.29 months two weeks ago vs. 3.46 months a
year ago vs. 4.28 months two years ago.

Of the 8 Orange County pricing slices Thomas tracks, 4 had faster market
time vs. 2 weeks ago; and 8 improved over a year ago.

Orange County homes listed for under a million bucks have a market time of
0.99 months vs. 4.41 months for homes listed for more than $1 million.

So, basically, it is 4.5 times harder to sell a million-dollar-plus
residence!

And just so you know, the million-dollar market represents 31% of all homes
listed and 9% of all homes that entered into escrow in the past 30
days.

Here’s the recent data for listings; deals pending; market time in months;
latest vs. 2 weeks earllier, a year ago and 2 years ago. Color coding for market
time is red (slowed by 5%-plus in year); green (sped up by 5%-plus in year); and
yellow (in between!) Note: k=thousand; m=million …October 29th, 2012, by Jon
Lansner

Slice

Listings

Deals

Market Time (months)

2 week ago

1 yr. ago

2 yr. ago

$0-$250k

470

532

0.88

0.84

2.71

3.06

$250k-$500k

970

1,394

0.70

0.72

2.49

3.39

$500k-$750k

846

690

1.23

1.18

4.12

4.49

$750k-$1m

553

266

2.08

2.16

5.89

6.11

$1m-$1.5m

397

153

2.59

3.01

6.31

6.82

$1.5m-$2m

261

71

3.68

4.66

9.18

16.67

$2m-4m

352

45

7.82

6.78

17.96

16.47

$4m+

233

13

17.92

12.05

47.33

81.75

All O.C.

4,043

3,145

1.29

1.29

3.46

4.28

The
views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those
providing comments or external internet links are theirs alone, and do not
necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of First
Capital, we make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, current,
suitability, or validity of this information and will not be liable for
any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries,
or damages arising from its display or use. Any
information provided does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to lend.
Providing information to purchase does not guarantee a loan approval. All registered
trademarks, copyright, images, or other items used are property of their
respective owner and are used for editorial purposes only.

First Capital Mortgage is a subsidiary of PHH Home Loans LLC, a
direct lender, Dept. of Corporations file #413-0713 NMLS#4256

And not just in the major job centers like San Jose, San Francisco, and
Denver — but also in smaller attractive metros like Boulder, Colo., Durham,
N.C., and Jacksonville Fla.Apartment owners are enjoying the economic recovery
— and their bid to cash in, raising rents, may be a plus for the ownership
segment of housing.

But what about California?

According to RealFacts, Orange County rents for all asset
classes averaged $1,628, which made it the fifth most expensive apartment
market in California following San Jose ($1,980), San Francisco ($1,858), Los
Angeles ($1,757), and Santa Cruz ($1,664). Rents rose annually by 10.5% in San
Jose, 9.5% in San Francisco, and 4.7% in Orange County.

Apartment rents becoming expensive is creating a significant gap
between the rents consumers are expecting and reality.

According to a recent survey by Apartments.com, people searching
for apartments have unrealistically low rent expectations, particularly in many
of the “hip” cities that young adults seem to like. In Brooklyn, for example,
consumer expectations are 50% below actual rents; in Los Angeles 36%; and in San
Francisco 35%.

Sounds like especially young adults might be experiencing
sticker shock. But what does it all mean?

It is a good economic sign that the apartment market is still
going strong. That may benefit the housing market in the years ahead.

The financial competitiveness of apartment living has been
sheltered until recently by low price-gain expectations for ownership housing.
But this has changed recently, which is increasing the attractiveness of owning
a home for many consumers.

Finally, especially young adults — those echo boomers in search
of an active urban lifestyle -– may be somewhat surprised by expensive and
rising rents as they enter the market. As they search for a place to live, they
are likely to develop more realistic rent expectations — and turn a more
favorable eye to homeownership.

The
views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those
providing comments or external internet links are theirs alone, and do not
necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of First
Capital, we make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, current,
suitability, or validity of this information and will not be liable for
any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries,
or damages arising from its display or use. Any
information provided does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to lend.
Providing information to purchase does not guarantee a loan approval. All registered
trademarks, copyright, images, or other items used are property of their
respective owner and are used for editorial purposes only.

First Capital Mortgage is a subsidiary of PHH Home Loans LLC, a
direct lender, Dept. of Corporations file #413-0713 NMLS#4256